Explorers zero in on mysterious lagoon object as Amelia Earhart search enters its critical final phase

A 17-person expedition is racing against a two-day deadline to identify the Taraia Object — a visual anomaly in Nikumaroro's lagoon that researchers believe could be the wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10-E. Rough seas forced the team to pause field operations on Thursday, but Purdue University says the expedition remains on schedule and an update on the object's identification is expected this weekend. New Zealand has also released 47 high-resolution aerial photos of Nikumaroro taken in 1938, which Earhart's leading investigator Ric Gillespie has called a 'goldmine'.

Massive coconut crabs forced the 17-person team to sleep aboard their vessel rather than on the island, and four were encountered while clearing the overgrown 'Gallagher Highway' trail.